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Peter Biskind

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Easy Riders Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And Rock 'N Roll Generation Save Kindle Edition

by Peter Biskind (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 468 ratings

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In 1969, a low-budget biker movie, Easy Rider, shocked Hollywood with its stunning success. An unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll (onscreen and off), Easy Rider heralded a heady decade in which a rebellious wave of talented young filmmakers invigorated the movie industry. In Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind takes us on the wild ride that was Hollywood in the '70s, an era that produced such modern classics as The Godfather, Chinatown, Shampoo, Nashville, Taxi Driver, and Jaws.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls vividly chronicles the exuberance and excess of the times: the startling success of Easy Rider and the equally alarming circumstances under which it was made, with drugs, booze, and violent rivalry between costars Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda dominating the set; how a small production company named BBS became the guiding spirit of the youth rebellion in Hollywood and how, along the way, some of its executives helped smuggle Huey Newton out of the country; how director Hal Ashby was busted for drugs and thrown in jail in Toronto; why Martin Scorsese attended the Academy Awards with an FBI escort when Taxi Driver was nominated; how George Lucas, gripped by anxiety, compulsively cut off his own hair while writing Star Wars, how a modest house on Nicholas Beach occupied by actresses Margot Kidder and Jennifer Salt became the unofficial headquarters for the New Hollywood; how Billy Friedkin tried to humiliate Paramount boss Barry Diller; and how screenwriter/director Paul Schrader played Russian roulette in his hot tub. It was a time when an "anything goes" experimentation prevailed both on the screen and off.

After the success of Easy Rider, young film-school graduates suddenly found themselves in demand, and directors such as Francis Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, George Lucas, and Martin Scorsese became powerful figures. Even the new generation of film stars -- Nicholson, De Niro, Hoffman, Pacino, and Dunaway -- seemed a breed apart from the traditional Hollywood actors. Ironically, the renaissance would come to an end with Jaws and Star Wars, hugely successful films that would create a blockbuster mentality and crush innovation.

Based on hundreds of interviews with the directors themselves, producers, stars, agents, writers, studio executives, spouses, and ex-spouses, this is the full, candid story of Hollywood's last golden age. Never before have so many celebrities talked so frankly about one another and about the drugs, sex, and money that made so many of them crash and burn.

By turns hilarious and shocking, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is the ultimate behind-the-scenes account of Hollywood at work and play.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Not only is Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls the best book in recent memory on turn-of-the-'70s film, it is beyond question the best book we'll ever get on the subject. Why? Because once the big names who spilled the beans to Biskind find out that other people spilled an equally piquant quantity of beans, nobody will dare speak to another writer with such candor, humor, and venom again.

Biskind did hundreds of interviews with people who make the president look accessible: Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Geffen, Beatty, Kael, Towne, Altman. He also spoke with countless spurned spouses and burned partners, alleged victims of assault by knife, pistol, and bodily fluids. Rather more responsible than some of his sources, Biskind always carefully notes the denials as well as the astounding stories he has compiled. He tells you about Scorsese running naked down Mulholland Drive after his girlfriend, crying, "Don't leave me!"; grave robbing on the set of Apocalypse Now; Faye Dunaway apparently flinging urine in Roman Polanski's face while filming Chinatown; Michael O'Donoghue's LSD-fueled swan dive onto a patio; Coppola's mad plan for a 10-hour film of Goethe's Elective Affinities in 3-D; the ocean suicide attempt Hal "Captain Wacky" Ashby gave up when he couldn't find a swimsuit that pleased him; countless dalliances with porn stars; Russian roulette games and psychotherapy sessions in hot tubs. But he also soberly gives both sides ample chance to testify.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is also more than a fistful of dazzling anecdotes. Methodically, as thrillingly as a movie attorney, Biskind builds the case that Hollywood was revived by wild ones who then betrayed their own dreams, slit their own throats, and destroyed an art form by producing that mindless, inhuman modern behemoth, the blockbuster.

When Spielberg was making the first true blockbuster, Jaws, he sneaked Lucas in one day when nobody was around, got him to put his head in the shark's mechanical mouth, and closed the shark's mouth on him. The gizmo broke and got stuck, but the two young men somehow extricated Lucas's head and hightailed it like Tom and Huck. As Peter Biskind's scathing, funny, wise book demonstrates, they only thought they had escaped. --Tim Appelo

From Library Journal

A former executive editor of Premiere on 1970s Hollywood.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005Z37BNQ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (December 13, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 13, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2705 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 863 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #440,275 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews:
4.4 468 ratings

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Peter Biskind

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Peter Biskind is the author of five previous books, including Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. He is a contributor to Vanity Fair and was formerly the executive editor of Premiere magazine. He lives with his family in Columbia County, New York.

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Customers say

Customers find the book an enjoyable and well-researched read on a powerful moment in American cinema history. They appreciate the great stories told and the insightful perspective it provides on the transition of Hollywood from the 1960s. The book is packed with valuable information from a variety of perspectives, making it invaluable for studying film in the New Hollywood era. Readers praise the author's writing style as well-crafted and the citations done correctly. They describe the art quality as brilliant, creative, and fearless. Overall, customers consider the book an essential purchase for film lovers and a must-read for New Hollywood fans.

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Readability Story quality Enlightened perspective Information quality Writer quality Art quality Movie content Ease of reading

31 customers mention "Readability"31 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and well-researched. They describe it as an excellent summer read for film enthusiasts. The book lives up to their expectations regarding the dish on film makers and their movies.

"...I assure you that the book IS GOOD! Thanks. —todd gold" Read more

"...This book is an incredible story about film culture, business, and entertainment and every page of it is full of delicious information from a..." Read more

"...But it makes for a juicy read, that's for DARN sure!..." Read more

"...Overall it was a fun read, from the vantage point of an appreciator of film, to just loving movie gossip...." Read more

19 customers mention "Story quality"19 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's story engaging. They describe it as an enlightening and enjoyable read about film culture, business, and entertainment. The book provides a good overview of the New Hollywood era from 1967 until 1980, with historical records and oral histories.

"...This book is an incredible story about film culture, business, and entertainment and every page of it is full of delicious information from a..." Read more

"...book is a hybrid of all types of information -- historical record, oral histories, and a more than a little bit of gossip rag thrown in for prurient..." Read more

"...They did so because it was their dream to do so and their films did change Hollywood...." Read more

"...Some of the Hollywood tales are not tinsel town pretty, but all are interesting." Read more

9 customers mention "Enlightened perspective"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and well-researched. They describe it as an intelligent, funny, poignant look at the transition of Hollywood from the 1960s. The author is described as an expert guide, with riveting detail.

"...-orientation was so evident and in the end gave a rich and insightful look at the transition (rise) of Hollywood from the 60's to 70's and..." Read more

"The detail is riveting but the author too often seems to play too loose with facts. Doesn't hurt the reading of the book-I couldn't put it down." Read more

"...EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS has it all...well-researched, well-written, and reads like an amazing novel...." Read more

"...An interesting an edifying perspective. Highly recommended." Read more

7 customers mention "Information quality"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides insightful information about Hollywood's backlot. They say it's a valuable resource for studying film in the New Hollywood era. The book offers a variety of perspectives, from historical records to oral histories, and brings back memories. It also gives them a list of movies they hadn't seen at the time but want to see.

"...business, and entertainment and every page of it is full of delicious information from a variety of perspectives." Read more

"...This book is a hybrid of all types of information -- historical record, oral histories, and a more than a little bit of gossip rag thrown in for..." Read more

"...Overall it was a fun read, from the vantage point of an appreciator of film, to just loving movie gossip...." Read more

""Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" is packed full of Hollywood back lot info. Sometimes a little too much...." Read more

6 customers mention "Writer quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers praise the book's writing quality. They find it well-researched, with good citations and talented young people.

"...It does list examples. It even has good citings done the way all written work should be cited...." Read more

"...Some of these young people were genuinely talented, others not quite, but they forever destroyed the old studio system and cleared the fetid air...." Read more

"...EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS has it all...well-researched, well-written, and reads like an amazing novel...." Read more

"Fascinating story, and stories. Well written. I only gave it 3 stars though because it just became repetitious. Different names; same stories...." Read more

5 customers mention "Art quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the art quality. They find it brilliant, creative, and lovely.

"...n't as intriguing (not enough sex, drugs or violence), but their art was beautiful and helped make that particular age be golden...." Read more

"...the praise and blame for the glorious Hollywood renaissance on the brilliant, creative and fearless but ultimately selfish, self absorbed, debauched..." Read more

"An incredible and often tragic recount of the arguably the greatest decade in cinema history...." Read more

"SUCH A GOOD BOOK. So interesting and lovely. The writer made such a good job. Congrats sir, you are a great writer and blah blah blah" Read more

4 customers mention "Movie content"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book useful for movie enthusiasts. They say it's a must-read for New Hollywood fans and recommended for wannabe movie producers. The content covers some of the greatest films ever made and introduces creative minds in movie entertainment.

"...Recommended for wannabe movie producers." Read more

"...and sheer debauchery of the time contributed to some of the greatest films ever made...." Read more

"An essential purchase for film lovers...." Read more

"...It was amazing to read the beginnings of some of the most creative minds in movie entertainment...." Read more

3 customers mention "Ease of reading"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They mention it's well-researched and hard to put down.

"...Peter Biskind's EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS is a nonstop race through the lives of the young and prominent 1970s filmmakers...." Read more

"...And, this is the book to help you along that journey. EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS has it all...well-researched, well-written, and reads..." Read more

"Hard to put down...." Read more

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Todd Gold
THE BOOK IS GOOD. PERIOD.
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
I was on Audible earlier and saw several bad reviews for this book. I read it upon its publication in 1999 as a 20 year old student in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I’d been a film buff already since I was a kid, and the stories I read in this book, by turns made my jaw drop, as well as made me laugh till I had tears in my eyes. One reviewer on Audible stated that since a number of filmmakers and actors dismissed the book as having printed outright lies, that the stories should be taken with a grain of salt—Hogwash! It’s far more likely that the people involved are simply embarrassed by their own behavior…To date, since 1999, Peter Biskind hasn’t been sued by ANYONE featured in the book for slander, or defamation of character for his egregious “outright lies.” That’s a very good indication that Biskind wasn’t making stuff up. Not to mention, so many of the stories were told by the actors & filmmakers, themselves. If you have any interest in Film, the ‘60’s, or the ‘70’s, you’ll devour this book. I assure you that the book IS GOOD! Thanks. —todd gold

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9 people found this helpful

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Mac6uffin
Wild Ride Through 70s Hollywood
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2024
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Many have disavowed the stories here as untrue, but so many direct quotations make it hard to deny. There are probably even wilder stories that couldn’t be confirmed. Me Too would annihilate these men if those stories occurred today. Don’t expect a lot of talk about how great movies were made. For a book that focuses on directors, most of the book is about deals and financial production. Also very gossipy - who did deal deals with whom, who betrayed their friends, who did who, what drugs they did, etc.
Recommended for wannabe movie producers.

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David Fulmer
Hollywood in the Seventies
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021
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This is a fascinating history of the film industry of the 1970s, often referred to as “New Hollywood.” It focuses on directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and others who introduced the kind of films that appealed to audiences at the time, films about criminals and drugs with anti-authority content. It unfolds chronologically and Peter Biskind quotes extensively from interviews he has conducted with many of the people who were there, telling stories ranging from the technical to the gossipy and everywhere in between about the financing, casting, editing, filming, and distribution of films such as ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, ‘Jaws’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘The Godfather.’ If you haven’t seen the films described in this book you will want to, if you have it will deepen your understanding of their cultural significance.

The narrative of the book charts the rise of the idea of the director as the author of films, supplanting the influence of studio executives, only to see the position of the director usurped at the end of the decade by the producer when smash hits like ‘Star Wars’ showed just how much money could be made by movies and high production and marketing costs along with product research displaced the influence of the artistry of the filmmakers. This book is an incredible story about film culture, business, and entertainment and every page of it is full of delicious information from a variety of perspectives.

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7 people found this helpful

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John S Harris
Even Hollywood couldn't make this stuff up!
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2010
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I feel like I need to check into rehab after having read this book!

A motley collection of aspiring and idealistic young filmmakers band together in support of each other and with dreams of creating art. A little fame, money, and success gets tossed in later on, and all Heck breaks loose: egos and pettiness surface, neuroses flare up, sex and drugs become the currency of the day, fortunes are won and lost and won again (and lost again), and the cooperative spirit dies an ugly death.

Rather than spoil it for you by recounting specifics, I'll just say this business can bring out the worst in people and it certainly did in the case of many of the principals featured in "ER,RB". But it makes for a juicy read, that's for DARN sure! And I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that what is recounted in this book is really just the tip of the iceberg.

This book is a hybrid of all types of information -- historical record, oral histories, and a more than a little bit of gossip rag thrown in for prurient pleasure. Ideally this book would be just volume one in a long series. But I was thoroughly entertained by what Biskind did uncover.

If you hold some high-profile film directors (Spielberg, Lucas, Altman, Bogdanovich, Coppola, Scorcese, etc.) in somewhat high esteem for their contributions to film, you may find that your opinions might change somewhat. But learning WHY will be a fun read.

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6 people found this helpful

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Brian Gagnon
Read If You Dare
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2015
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Now, this book does talk about the films of the late 60's-early-80's quite well. It does list examples. It even has good citings done the way all written work should be cited. However, this book left me feeling like the author either didn't like this period of cinematic history or wanted to create a narrative that stated that these well-known filmmakers all tried to make history and change the way Hollywood works but failed miserably, which wasn't exactly the truth. These well-known filmmakers documented in this book didn't go into the business to just try to make history. They did so because it was their dream to do so and their films did change Hollywood. Many of the filmmakers documented went on to have big careers, win Academy Awards, get their films added to the National Film Registry (i.e. American Graffiti, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Easy Rider, Mean Streets and Raging Bull), and they even inspired multiple "rip-offs" and films that followed in their footsteps. Just keep this in mind even if there's no intention to read this book. Francis Ford Coppola, Roger Ebert and Steven Spielberg sure as hell want you to keep this in mind too.

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12 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Doug
Great book
Reviewed in Australia on August 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
Very engaging and enlighten ing book,very well written and one of the best of its kind.

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ralph alberts
The author writes for Vanity Fair and nobody writes about the movie industry better than Briskind
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2017
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I have read this many times. The author writes for Vanity Fair and nobody writes about the movie industry better than Briskind. The sequel to this forsaw the current Harvey Weinstein scandal by years. Honestly, just buy this as you'll love every page.

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inimitable.heidi
The book is fine, but the original information is misleading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2016
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The edition posted was not the one I received. The book is fine, but the original information is misleading. As a film studies student it might have been important to receive the right one, but in the end it didn't matter this time. Still, disappointing.

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Mr J E Illingworth
Different cover to the one pictured but it's the same ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2016
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Different cover to the one pictured but it's the same book. A bit tatty but that's what it said in the description and you can't complain for £0.01. Cheers!

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Henry Huntingford
poor description on
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2015
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Only the first chapter, poor description on Amazon

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Easy Riders Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And Rock 'N Roll Generation Save Kindle Edition

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